Lakefront Brewery - Fuel Cafe Coffee Flavored Stout

Brewed with coffee from Milwaukee’s Fuel Cafe coffee shop, this coffee stout pours, not surprisingly, a very dark, opaque, brownish-black, with a head that retains fairly well and leaves some lacing as you drink down the glass. On the nose there are certainly strong notes of coffee, along with a robust, earthy, roasted malt character and a touch of cocoa powder. Hops are definitely in the back seat here, as we would expect for the style. The aroma notes come forth on the palate, and there’s a distinct smoky character dancing with the light residual sweetness, and a very light impression of licorice that builds somewhat with warmth. This smooth, light-to-medium-bodied brew finishes with notes of coffee grounds and chocolate, with a hint of smoke and a bitter touch in the fade. Lakefront recommends pairing this brew with desserts like tiramisu, brownies, or vanilla ice cream with berries, and we agree. The adventurous among you might even consider trying a stout float, covered in chocolate shavings and/or a drizzle of chocolate sauce. Cheers!

As home to mammoth beer companies Miller, Pabst, and Schlitz, Milwaukee, Wisconsin has been known more for its big “macro” breweries than for microbrewed craft beer. But, since founding Lakefront Brewery in 1987, brothers Russ and Jim Klisch have been dedicated to changing that perception. While there was a family heritage with roots in the brewing and beer service industry, the Klisch brothers ended up in very different careers: Jim was a Milwaukee police officer, and Russ worked in the field of chemical engineering. But then sometime in the early 1980s, Jim developed an interest in brewing and Russ gave him a book on brewing for his birthday. Russ admits that Jim wasn’t too bad at it, and that inspired a measure of sibling rivalry that got Russ bitten by the brewing bug, too. By the mid-80s, the brothers had become quite adept at brewing, and their homebrew was increasingly popular among both family and friends who encouraged Russ and Jim to expand their hobby into a full-fledged business.

Lakefront Brewery remains a locally-owned, small, family-run microbrewery, that has a knack for innovation. In 1992 they bottled the first fruit beer in the U.S. since Prohibition, and in 1996 they created the first certified organic beer in the country. They also introduced “New Grist,” one of the nation’s first gluten-free beers in 2006 (brewed with sorghum and rice in place of barley) so that those with Celiac’s disease could have access to a beer that they could safely drink. Additionally, Lakefront has been a leader in the green business movement in Wisconsin, being awarded the Travel Green Wisconsin certification in 2007.

For more info on the brewery or brewery tours (in which they give you a beer at the start of the tour instead of the end!), call (414) 372-8800 or visit them at www.lakefrontbrewery.com.